Current Computer-Aided Design software packages range from two-dimensional (2D) vector-based drafting systems to three-dimensional (3D) solid and surface modelling systems. Existing 3D Computer Aided Design (CAD) packages (such as AutoCAD and QCAD) are available for designing industrial objects of manufacture. Typically, a designer familiar with such packages uses them to design a particular industrial object for mass production. Modifications can be made during the design process and these are visualised within the CAD package often as a three-dimensional wireframe object.
Such packages are used by either individual designers working by themselves or if collaboration happens, then it is on a level playing field, i.e. both designers have equal access for the modification and enhancement of the modelled geometry. Thus, there is no ability for one designer to have a greater degree of control on the design than the other. Also for this, both designers are required to have a similar ability to be able to use existing CAD packages to express their modifications of the article under design. This requires a working knowledge of the CAD package which can exclude a significantly large number of designers who do not have the requisite CAD package knowledge.
Each 3D CAD object representation is comprised of thousands of interconnected vertices which form polygons, commonly referred to as a 3D polygon mesh. These vertices each have to be manipulated in order to effect changes in the design of the object. The vertices define the shape and orientation of the surface of the object and features within the surface of the object. The computational power required to manipulate these representations is significant as any transform is applied to all vertices of the object. The effect of this large-power requirement is that either rendering the image takes a considerable amount of time or the computing hardware required for faster image rendering significantly increases cost.